Industrial gas

ABSTRACT

A TWO-PHASE, LIQUID AND GAS, ADDITIVE FOR INDUSTRIAL GASES SUCH AS PROPANE COMPRISING GASEOUS PENTANES AND BUTANES AND LIQUID METHANOL WHICH ARE USED FOR CUTTING, WELDING AND THE LIKE AND WHICH ENTRAINS THE PROPANE AND GASEOUS PORTION OF THE ADDITIVE IN THE LIQUID PORTION OF THE ADDITIVE AND WHICH THEREBY PURIFIES AND CATALYZES THE GASEOUS MIXTURE TO PROVIDE OVERALL A TWO-PHASE INDUSTRIAL GAS HAVING AN EFFECTIVE HEAT OF COMBUSTION OF ABOUT 3200 B.T.U.&#39;&#39;S AND WHICH GREATLY REDUCES AIR POLLUTANTS BY YIELDINGING MORE COMPLETE COMBUSTION OF THE CONSTITUENTS.

United States Patent 01' 3,591,355 Patented July 6, 1971 3,591,355 INDUSTRIAL GAS Ertman Leonard Kessler, Plymouth, Mich., assignor to LG. Corporation, Detroit, Mich. No Drawing. Filed July 29, 1968, Ser. No. 748,235 U 8 Int. Cl. C101 3/00 Cl. 48-197 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (I) Field of the invention The present invention relates to industrial gases and additives therefor and more particularly to two-phase additives for propane fuel for use in cutting, welding and the like.

(II) Prior art The use of gaseous fuels in industrial processes such as welding, cutting and the like has been long established. Two of the more prevalent types of industrial gases employed are propane and naphtha gas. Propane, because of the contaminants present in it, is employed where relatively high heats of combustion are not required. Although propane is of relatively low cost, the contaminants deter its use since they greatly inhibit propanes heat of combustion. Hence, in large industrial processes, relatively large quantities of propane would be required which in turn negates any economic advantages in its use. Because of this, naphtha gas is being used in these processes. Although naphtha gas is more expensive than propane, its high heat of combustion, about 2800 B.t.u.s, requires less of this gas than would be required to accomplish the same job with propane, thus equalizing the cost factor between naphtha gas and propane gas.

Because of its relatively low cost, if propane gas could be made to produce heat products equivalent to that of naphtha gas, the costs in industrial processes such as welding and cutting would be greatly reduced. Many attempts have been made to modify propane fuels through additives such as ether, methane and the like. However, these additives fail to produce when combined with the propane the sufiiciently high heat products that can be obtained with naphtha gas. The usual effect of these additives is to lower the ignition point of their mixtures or to increase the flame temperature; but again these results do not overcome the advantages of using naphtha gas.

Additionally, these additives do not yield sufficient combustibility to overcome the deleterious by-products such as carbon monoxide and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention, a low cost two-phase additive, makes feasible the use of propane in industrial processes heretofore reserved solely for naphtha gas and the like. The additive which comprises a liquid alkanol and a mixture of gaseous alkanes purifies and catalyzes the propane to provide a more complete combustion, thereby reducing the amount of carbon monoxide by-product, and a heat product heretofore unassociated with propane industrial gases.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention comprises a two-phase additive which is itself completely combustible and which purifies and catalyzes the propane.

The additive comprises a liquid alkanol and a gaseous mixture of alkanes. Upon introduction into a propane system the additives gas phase mixes with the propane to provide a homogeneous gas mixture which is entrained in the liquid phase of the additive with the propane being the carrier gas of the gaseous additives.

When ignited the propane plus additive industrial gas produces heats of combustion heretofore unassociated with propane industrial gas, in the neighborhood of 3200 B.t.u.s, and as such also provides a more complete combustion of the industrial gas thereby reducing the amount of air pollutant by-products such as carbon monoxide which is so prevalent when incomplete combustion occurs. The constituent components of the additive are readily available and are inexpensive. Their presence, as will subsequently be illustrated, in the propane is of a relatively low proportion, too. When coupled with the relatively inexpensive cost of propane, a low cost industrial gas is provided whose heat qualities are greater than that of the more commonly employed industrial gases such as naphtha gas.

It has been found that gaseous alkanes such as pentane and iso-pentane, and if desired a minute quantity of butane and combinations thereof when mixed with propane and entrained in an alkanol, such as methanol, provides the hereinbefore desired characteristics of this industrial gas.

Following are some examples, but not limited to those shown, of such a propane plus additive industrial gas and weight percentages of the components thereof:

Percent Propane (C H 86.5 Iso-pentane (C H 6.0 Normal pentane (C H 6.0 Methanol (CH OH) 1.5

Percent Propane (C H 86.5 Iso-pentane (C H 12.0 Methanol (CH OH) 1.5

Percent Propane (C H 86.5 Normal pentane (C H 12.0 Methanol (CH OH) 1.5

Percent Propane (C H 84.5 Iso-pentane (C H 6.0 Normal pentane (C H 6.0 Butane (C H 2.0 Methanol (CH OH) 1.5

Percent Propane (C H 84.5 Isa-pentane (C H 6.0 N-pentane (C H 6.0 Iso-butane (C H 2.0 Methanol (CH OH) 1.5

It can be seen from the examples that the primary components of the additives are the pentanes and the alcohol.

The usual processes employed in the manufacture of industrial gas eliminate any alkanes having more than four carbon atoms. However, it has been discovered that the presence of pentane or iso-pentane in such gases enhances the heat product of such gases.

The pentanes, which have a high heat of combustion, increase the overall heat of combustion of the industria. gas and ensure more complete combustion of the propane thereby reducing the amount of carbon monoxide byproduct.

Thus, rather than eliminating pentane and its isomers, it is directly added to the industrial gas.

The alcohol has been found to serve a three-fold purpose. It entrains the gas therein for delivery to a user; it catalyzes the gaseous mixture in that it combusts first thereby preheating the gases prior to their combustion; and it purges the propane and the other gases of their contaminants by reacting therewith and thereby delivering a purified propane to the industrial gas user.

It is readily apparent that I have described a new industrial gas comprising propane and additives thereof which provide higher heats of combustion than heretofore available with propane gases; which reduces air pollutant by-products; and which greatly reduces the cost of gases used in industrial processes such as welding, cutting and the like.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. An industrial fuel gas composition consisting essentially of (a) a major proportion, by weight, of propane, and (b) a minor proportion, by weight, of a mixture of (1) a liquid alkanol and (2) a mixture of gaseous alkanes having 4 to 5 carbon atoms wherein at least one of said alkanes is a pentane.

2. The industrial gas as defined in claim 1 wherein the alkanol is methanol.

3. The industrial fuel gas as defined in claim 1 wherein at least one other of said gaseous alkanes is selected from the group consisting of butane, iso-butane and mixtures thereof.

4. An additive for propane industrial gas consisting essentially of a mixture of:

(a) 1.5% by weight, based on the total weight of the gas, of liquid methanol, and

(b) from 12 to 14% by weight, based on the total weight of the gas, of gaseous butanes and pentanes.

5. An industrial fuel gas consisting essentially of by Weight:

(a) from 84.5 to 86.5% of propane,

(b) 12% of pentane and isomers thereof, and

(c) 1.5% of methanol.

6. The industrial gas of claim 5 and further including 2.0%, by weight, of butane and the isomers thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,565,935 12/1925 Harris 48-196 2,404,094 7/ 1946 Robertson 44-52X 2,513,769 7/1950 White 48-197 2,908,599 10/1959 Medsker. 3,211,539 10/1965 Phillips 48-196X FOREIGN PATENTS 569,108 5/1945 Great Britain 48-197FM OTHER REFERENCES Bennett, H.: Concise Chemical and Technical Dictionary, p. 713 1947).

JOSEPH SCOVRONEK, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

